David Lentz

Gold's Just Getting Started - Barron's Interview

To jt and ITSEARL (and the many others of a similar mindset), I pose a question:

If the "gummint" makes it illegal to trade in gold/silver or possess the physical metal -- however unlikely that seems to me -- exactly how will physical possession benefit you? Will you be able to take your ingots to the grocery store and cut off a few slivers for bread and milk, or cut off a piece to buy gas for your vehicle? I think not.

If you believe that upon the continued disintegration of the dollar, there would emerge an underground economy where gold/silver are the currencies that are trusted in, I suspect that you have no experience in working in an underground economy, or in any other activity that is proscribed by the government with penalties, prosecution, and jail time involved.

Go out any try to purchase a small amount of heroin, cocaine or even pot, and phone me from your jail cell to tell me I was right. Yes, such activities do take place, and even flourish in some places, but in the mainstream, they do not. Dealing in illegal items is a tricky business. You've been living too long in a free society if you believe otherwise, and are naive fools.

If precious metals are to provide any benefit at all, it is in their purported ability to hold their value while the fiat currencies inflate away to a tenuous nothingness. XTFs or coins from the local coin store (huge markup included) maintain their value by being able to be traded. If one cannot trade something, its value is limited to its usefulness to the owner. If you don't own a boat, and can use it as keel ballast, I think the things gold in particular can be used for (jewelry is another) is pretty limited.

And for that matter, if "the gummint" bans physical possession of gold, exactly how do you think they would confiscate all the gold jewelry that is spread throughout the population? Would they confiscate gold fillings? Is ANY of this reasonable or is there ANY historical precedent within this country for such nonsense? I think that confiscation of gold and/or silver, or even the simple banning of trading in such items is about as likely as making gun ownership illegal and confiscating all the guns in our heavily-armed nation. It simply ain't gonna happen, no matter how much some would prefer it, or others think that it will occur.

For the record, I own some gold XTFs and gold mining mutual funds, although I'm seeing a point down the road (possibly this year) when we see a periodic spike in the price of gold and it collapses back for another 20 years. I'll be selling then (I hope, timing is a dicey game), and I'm hoping y'all will still be buying at that point.

Gold's Just Getting Started - Barron's Interview

Talking up both ISRG (PE 82.6, Market Cap 11.7B) and Dupont (PE 12.9, Market Cap 41.3B) in the same article seems to be casting a pretty wide net in hopes of catching something.